He said the centre could spawn various new products and services related to the halal industry in the move towards the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0).

Ahmad Zahid pointed out that currently, there were 23 halal parks nationwide.

"To reflect our seriousness, I fully agree that a Halal Jaya or any other suitable name for the new national halal industry park be set up by the government," he told a press conference after attending the 2017 Halal Industry Premier Dialogue here today.

Ahmad Zahid said the location of the national halal park need not be in the Klang Valley and it needed to consider the cost of affordable land.

Earlier at the dialogue session, the deputy prime minister who is also Malaysian Halal Council chairman said the halal industry targeted to create 330,000 employment opportunities by 2020.

As of last year, the sector employed 248,508 workers.

Ahmad Zahid said the government was also targeting the establishment of about 1,600 small and medium exporting companies by 2020, as compared to 1,257 at the end of last year.

The dialogue session which was attended by about 1,000 representatives from the Malaysian halal industry was also aimed at collating data and proposals to take the national halal industry development to a higher level.

Feedback from the dialogue will be tabled at the Halal 2.0 Industry Plan Formation Laboratory from Sept 14 to 19.

The Malaysian halal export amounted to RM42 billion last year as compared to RM39 billion in 2015 and it is expected to surpass the RM50 billion mark by 2020.